I'm late this year getting my orchids out on the deck - the birds took it over during the winter and then made an enormous, foul mess, dropping seeds and having it all rot and mildew - so, I've been trying to sanitize everything and it's taken a good 10 days. Anyway, I haven't decided if I'll continue to feed them. Phillip was really the bird man, so I don't keep up on them as he would have. I'm leaning towards letting them eat elsewhere for the summer, and they will let me know they don't like that, I'm sure

I now have the shelving clean and ready to go. My deck faces due south and has an overhang that extend abut 2/3 of the way out. Against the wall (sliding glass doors) it stays shady most of the day, until late afternoon sum hits it and it can get pretty hot. The nights are in the low70s and humid; the days are anywhere from high 70s to mid 90s. I have a hygrometer to measure the heat and humidity both under the overhang and out in the sun. There's no question that there are days when it's easily over 100 in the sun, and, occasionally in the shade. I bought some 10' x 10' grommetted 30% shadecloth and a hose that fits on my sink faucet and goes all the way out to the deck - yeehah! Now I need to think about ir movement and cooling and I'm not sure how to deal with that.

Only the Catts., and Encyclias are going outside - the slippers and Phals stay in.

Anyone have some ideas about how I can keep them from overheating? Does nyone else have a similar situation? Oh - and we regularly ( 2 or 3 times a week for about a couple hours) get thunderstorms. Occasional rainy days but not many. And do I have to transition the orchids to the outside? What kind of schedule would that be? Keep in mind that I now have about 60 orchids and at least half are going out.

I'd REALLY appreciate some input. I'm getting a very late start this summer because of Phillip's death and a lot of travelling and now, tons of estate paperwork.

Thanks - all you Senior Growers!!!